Syracuse freshman Dajuan Coleman, who returned to practice on Thursday after missing six games following surgery on his left knee, was cleared to play in Syracuse’s game against Georgetown on Sunday.

But Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said he decided to hold the 6-foot-9 center out of the game because Coleman had so little practice time leading up to the big game, which Syracuse lost 57-46.

“Dajuan practiced the last couple days,’’ Boeheim said. “He’s moving on it pretty good. I think he could play now. I wanted to give him at least a couple days of practice and just see how he felt. He’s cleared, but I didn’t really want to go with him.’’

Coleman was in full uniform and went through pre-game warm-ups. Coleman had started the first 20 games of the season for the Orange, averaging 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. He underwent the surgery to repair a slight tear in his left meniscus on Jan. 29.

Boeheim said he initially wanted Coleman to get in a full week of practice before playing. But after the loss to Georgetown, Boeheim hinted that Coleman might see some action in Syracuse’s game at Marquette on Monday.

“I wanted to give him a week or so, but he could play Monday,’’ Boeheim said. “We’ll see how he feels.’’